Resources/Articles
Are There Questions You Are Afraid To Ask? (2)
What question is a “stupid” question?
What question is “ridiculous”?
What question are you to “shy” to ask?
What puzzles you the most but you are too afraid to ask anyone for help?
Our purpose and hope in life has so much to do with the questions we ask and the correct answers given to us. Unless we go to the proper and truthful source, we may either avoid asking questions or deny we are getting accurate answers when we do ask. What questions are you scared to ask?
What Excuses Am I Making?
George Washington once said, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” The truth is, if you are good at making excuses, you will never be good at anything else.
We all have something that “stands in the way”; a hindrance or an obstacle. I wonder how many of us know that whatever is in front of us can be behind us? By that I mean, the only thing truly standing between you and an accomplishment, goal achievement, or fulfillment of purpose is the excuse (if you make one). Why then would we keep telling ourselves why we cannot be successful?
There are some heavy obstacles in Romans 8.35-39. The conclusion is “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” None of these obstacles are so heavy, strong, or powerful that they can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ, other than our excuses.
Priority is a big word, but it makes excuses go away. When you have a priority, you DO. How we spend our time each day reveals the truth to whether it is our excuse or God’s power that dominates our thinking.
Married couples have come to us distraught - seeing the problems, and not knowing what to do. We discuss with them the time and work needed to better their marriage. Some have given excuses for not having time, when they have already given time to watching their marriage fade, self-destruct, divide, and divorce. Priority is what dissolves excuses.
There will always be work to do. “We must work the works of him that sent [us], while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9.4). Do not permit an excuse to prevent God’s work from being done in and through you, if heaven is an anticipated rest for your soul.
Based on My Attitudes and Actions, Where Can I Expect to Be in Five Years?
That question is one few people ask, not necessarily because they are afraid of the future, but because they do not think about the future for noticing the immediate, the now.
Ecclesiastes 12.13-14 states these solemn words: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (NASB).
The passage above helps you understand that your life story has one author - YOU. Doing nothing gets you nothing. Doing wrong things gets you wrong results. Doing the same things gets you the same things. Nothing changes until you REPENT. If not, your story in five years will be the same (2 Peter 3.18).
For “what is your life” (James 4.14)? It is a vapor. Five years comes quickly. What the next chapter in your life looks like depends on what you do with it. Ideas are just ideas. Intentions are just intentions. Sketches are just images. What ruins the expectation of good within the next five years is one criminal - Procrastinating on something that is important.
The Bible placed within your hand is not just a book of information; it is a book of transformation. It gives you things to do to PLACE you and KEEP you where you need to be. It guides, saves, helps, and strengthens us in faith. This way, we are not afraid to ask any question. We don’t have to fear the answers. Keep these three things in mind as you allow scripture to help answer some of the questions that you may be afraid to ask:
Hold fast to the standard. Embrace the principles, the simple things you have heard and known from your youth (youth of your life or youth of your faith). This was the exhortation of Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3.14-15: “Abide thou in the things which thou hast learned…from a babe…” That is reassuring.
Make sure you surround yourself with faithful Christians. Listen to godly brethren who believe God and practice what God says, not those who talk about it and never do it. Why listen and be close to those who do not love God? Be close and share with the people who want to do what the Lord says, even if you are not doing it right now. Why? They help others do right. There is no shame to them and their actions. Their faithfulness is wisdom.
Have spiritual toughness. Work to have the faith for tough times, tempting times, times of decision, and disappointing times. There will be a lot of them, maybe more of one than another. The apostle Paul was such a spiritually strong man. Put him in a courtroom, and he teaches with a defense that astonishes the hearers. Put him in prison, and he converts the jailer and writes letters to Christians. Beat him with strips and with soreness in his shoulders, and he goes to the next city to speak about Jesus. Turn away from his message, and he does not tone it down, but moves on to speak with another group. Give him a mission, and he becomes a missionary. 2 Corinthians 11.23-27 tells the story of his challenges and his spiritual toughness. He says to every Christian, “…Let us not be weary in well-doing…” (Galatians 6.9).
Life is filled with some unanswered and unanswerable questions. The questions we often fail to ask are the ones to which we already have the answer we know is right. We just need to courage to respond acceptably to God.
